In Sickness and in Health
by VeggieVamp
Summary: Prequel to the Twilight series. The story of Edward's life from when he got sick. The swirling chaotic atmosphere in the hospital as the Flu Epidemic arose. His hopes of being a soldier destroyed, can the strange doctor who worked there save him?
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

(Author's note: I vowed myself to start a serious fanfic, not just the other stupid ones I wrote. Being serious is a big challenge for me, but I am convinced I can do it. It'll be better when I have fans cheering me on…, oh well. Wish me luck. I don't own Twilight or any of its amazing characters.)

"Edward!" My mother's voice called from the house as I was just entering the door. I sighed as I rushed into the kitchen to help her. She was very dependent on me, as I was on her.

I couldn't help but smile at the woman who had brought me up. The resemblance between the two of us was shocking. We both had the same auburn hair that was unnatural, to say the least, and we both had eyes that looked like sparkling emeralds. Today, Mother's eyes were stressed as she tended to four pots cooking on the stove at the same time.

"Pass me the spoon," she gasped, wiping her sweating brow with her apron. I obeyed, passing over the wooden utensil. "Oh!" She frowned as the kettle went off.

"I'll get it," I offered and lifted the copper kettle from its position on the stove. I cleared the table of its mess and finally collapsed into a chair, exhausted.

"What is the reason for all this?" I asked, gesturing around me at the mess. Mother finally turned around with sadness glinting in her bright green eyes.

"The Watkins family fell ill yesterday. I'm preparing some food to take over to the lot." She sighed, taking off her apron and hanging it up on the hook. "I suppose I'll take them over now. Doctor Fenrick told me the illness is highly contagious, but I can't leave them alone. They've been our friends for so long."

"I'll come with you," I blurted, standing up so abruptly that I knocked over a chair in the process. I had heard about the disease that was going around. The majority of the students at school were missing these days. Foolishly, I thought that I can somehow protect Mother from the illness just by being there.

"No, no need, Edward. You stay here and keep your father company." Mother cast me a pleading glance before stepping out the door with her pots and baskets.

I was worried of course, but prayed silently that she will be okay. I didn't think anything will happen. Bad things only happened to other people, it wouldn't, couldn't happen to our family.

My father was reading a newspaper in the library. I ran past the large room and sprinted, instead, into mine. My bedroom was covered with newspaper clippings of the army. How I wished to join them! To be marching amongst their ranks, bearing my shiny weapon with my head held high!

School ceased to hold interest for me. I was counting down the days to my eighteenth birthday, when I would quit my lessons and apply to be fighting in the war. Only two months to go, I reminded myself.

I stayed up late that night, reading over every article I had, and absorbing every droplet of information on the army. I fell asleep on the floor sometime during midnight, but was awakened by an urgent voice in my ear.

"Edward, wake up. Your mother is ill!"

****

I don't think I've ever ran so fast in my life. I tore downstairs and knocked down a vase, but I didn't care. I just wanted to see my mother's smiling face, her twinkling green eyes as she laughed at my made up stories, her bronze hair swept back after we raced in the fields.

A woman was lying on the sofa. She resembled my mother but she wasn't my mother. Her skin was pale and sallow in the dim light. Her hand trembled as she reached for me. I rushed to her side immediately.

Her skin was burning hot against my skin, screaming out a warning to me. I knew that I should keep my distance. That it was contagious, but I couldn't bring myself to leave. Mother needed me then.

"Do you need anything?" I said, trying not to cry. Real men don't cry, I thought, and neither do soldiers. My voice cracked a bit anyways, and I cleared my throat quietly.

"Water," she croaked. "I need to see you before I leave you, Edward."

I was nearly delirious now. "Leave where?" I cried, "You are not leaving me! You will stay with me and see me march in the army. You will be there when I come back from war, bearing medals and you will be proud of me!" I didn't realize that I was shaking her shoulders now. She just coughed feebly as my father handed her a glass of cold water.

I tried to stay awake by the couch in the sitting room, but my eyelids drooped and I fell asleep with my arms still around Mother. In the morning when I woke up, I was freezing. I got up slowly, but collapsed right away. My head was spinning and I couldn't think straight. The last thing I remembered was my father talking urgently on the phone. I passed out some time after that.

****

When I awoke, I was lying on a cot in an unfamiliar room. The hospital, I soon realized. Hundreds of people were lying around me, in cots too. Most were coughing or moaning, and some looked unconscious.

I searched frantically for my mother, but couldn't find her. I wondered what that meant. I considered a possibility, but disregarded it almost immediately. No, she couldn't be dead.

"Ah, Mr. Masen. It's good to see that you are awake." A doctor wearing a white coat was coming towards me, his voice soothing and calm in the chaos around me. He didn't look that much older than myself, but he spoke in a mature manner.

"Where's Mother?" I asked. He smiled hesitantly at me, but not before I saw the flash of sadness cross his face.

"She had made a turn for the worse, I think. After all, you were unresponsive for two days. We are keeping a close eye on her, but she seems to be getting well. We will allow you to see her in several days."

I didn't see any dishonesty in his dark eyes, so I nodded as to say I understood.

"Now, I'm Doctor Cullen. I am the assigned doctor here to this section. I hope we will get to know each other. Please notify me if you feel something is wrong. We will issue medication and treatment immediately." The doctor turned to leave, but a question hit me right away.

"I will get better, right?" I asked. "Mother too, right? This is just a sickness that comes with the seasons and we will be back home in no time." I stated the last sentence with more confidence than I felt.

Doctor Cullen turned to me with a grave expression on his face. "I surely hope so, Mr. Masen," he whispered. "I surely hope so."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

(Author's note: Yay, reviews make me smile so keep them coming! I know the events are zooming by a little fast, but I spent two hours doing research on the Spanish Flu and it is actually very contagious and the symptoms appear right away. I actually liked how the first chapter turned out! Maybe I will submit it for an assignment in class… Anyways, I don't own Twilight.)

Two days passed slowly for me, during which time I did not receive any visitors. I thought this was strange, wondering why my father had not come to see me. Doctor Cullen came to see me everyday, and I informed him that I was fine. He was a nice man, comforting me and answering my questions.

At last, I was finally allowed to visit my mother. They wheeled me on a wheelchair to another large room. I protested of course. I was not weak, and could probably walk myself. When I tried to get up though, I collapsed, just as I had on that fateful morning.

"Edward!" Mother exclaimed from the other side of the room, and it was like the rest of the world melted away. I ignored my disability, and stumbled across the room to her on my undependable legs.

She looked better than she had when I last saw her. Her skin had a warm glow to it and she was smiling again. She gathered me into a hug, and for once, I didn't push her away. I felt like when I was five years old, when the lightning flashed outside as I curled up on Mother's lap. I had been frightened of storms then, and always thought that she would protect me. Now, I felt exactly the same as I had then, and I pressed my face into her long, bronze locks.

"I missed you." I whispered, hugging her closer. Out of all the members in my small family, my mother was the one who I connected with the most. Seeing the proud woman in this place made my heart ache.

"Just you and me now." She gave a broken sob. I pulled away immediately to study her eyes. They were usually a window to her soul; they told me her thoughts. I can almost hear what she was thinking as she stared back, yet grief did not overwhelm me as I thought it would.

"Where's father?" I asked, keeping my voice steady, controlled. I bit my lip as she looked at me helplessly and finally looked away. I knew the answer then. It had been written all over her face.

I didn't bring up the subject of my father again. Just Mother and I left in the world, I thought as the nurse wheeled me back to my cot. At least I had her. I contented myself with that simple fact as I curled into a ball on my hard mattress, squeezed my eyes shut, and pray that this is all a nightmare.

****

I woke to a fierce headache the next morning. I was utterly bewildered. Doctor Cullen had said that I was recovering successfully. This couldn't happen to me! Not now!

I chided myself with lies, finally convincing my body that my headache is just an illusion. I struggled through the day, and could barely keep myself conscious as Mother talked. By evening, my forehead was burning and my throat felt like it was on fire. I coughed into my hand just as Doctor Cullen made his nightly rounds. I could read his face as he rushed over with a worried look. Something was wrong.

I didn't really remember much after that. I remember somebody bringing a glass to my lips and I drank feebly from it before hitting the pillows, exhausted. My leg had cramps in them and my arm ached too. At that moment, all I wanted to do was die.

No, Edward, I told myself, you must fight, stay alive for your mother. I couldn't even begin to think about leaving her alone in the world to fend for herself. Around that time, I drifted into a fitful sleep with a most peculiar dream.

In my dream, there was dark fog everywhere. I saw mother's silhouette in the distance, and so decided to catch up to her. The minute I walked though, I collapsed and I watched helplessly as the fog swallowed the woman. Then, the fog disappeared, leaving me alone in the dark. I had never been so afraid in my life.

"Mr. Masen? Edward? Edward, can you hear me?" I heard voices above my head. I recognized the melodious voice as that of Doctor Cullen and I also heard the soft growl of Mother's voice. I stirred in my sleep. What was she doing up and about? She was supposed to be resting.

"Lord, please. Save this boy! Edward, please hear me." My mother pleaded frantically.

"He seems to have developed worse symptoms," came Doctor Cullen's calm voice again. "He will need to be treated and given medication immediately. Of course, we don't have enough hands to give him the care he needs -"

"Of course he does," My mother's fierce voice interrupted, "He has me. I will watch over him."

"Mrs. Masen, er…Elizabeth," I could almost hear Doctor Cullen's brain speeding as he tried to convince my mother, "This might not be such a good idea. You are in a weakened state yourself and should really focus your energy on becoming well again."

"This is my son we're talking about. My only child. The only thing in the world I have left." Mother replied coolly. "I will do what I want."

I was too tired to intervene but my mind screamed at my mother to stop whatever she planned on doing. She was too weak, not strong enough. I was a soldier and soldiers take care of themselves.

"The medications are dispersed daily in the front ward," I heard Doctor Cullen tell my mother quietly, "Wet cloths for his fever can be found in the storage and the tap in the kitchen is available for use."

"I will see to it, doctor." I heard my mother say, and moments later, her footsteps as she strode across the room. The door swung shut as I tried not to cry out in pain. It felt as though somebody was pounding my head with a brick. I was hungry, yet could not hold down food. Everything I ate eventually came back up.

I opened my eyes to a slit to see Doctor Cullen looking down at me with a peculiar expression on his face. Then, sadness took over his handsome features and he nodded to himself as he left the room also. I sighed.

****

And so the battle for my life began. Every minute, my mother stayed by my bedside, never resting, only asking me if anything was wrong every hour. I tried not to make her do much. I held my pain within myself, and kept my teeth clenched around the scream that I knew will come when I opened my mouth. Something about the way she looked at me made me think she knew more about my charade than she let on.

"It's going to be okay." I gasped as I was hit with another rush of vertigo. The room tilted towards me and I leaned over the basin again. I felt Mother's hand rubbing soothing circles on my back as I retched out my supper.

"You will survive." She stated fiercely. That night, as she fell asleep on the chair beside me, I remembered what she had said and shivered. It wasn't what she said, but how she said it. It sounded like I would be the sole survivor of this epidemic, and it sounded like she was letting go.

****

Day after day passed in the ward I was stuck in. I came to memorize every detail of the peeling wallpaper. I wasn't showing any improvement, and what was worse was that Mother was looking more fragile everyday.

Every time I told her to get some rest, she ignored me and kept on fetching cold cloths, or pouring medicine into a cup, or adjusting my blankets.

"Doctor Cullen, how is she?" I asked one night, when she finally retired to her room after much persuasion. Her face was all pinched and pale as she dragged herself down the long hallway, refusing the wheelchair that was offered.

The blonde doctor swept his fingers through his hair, "Please, Edward. Call me Carlisle. See, Elizabeth is a very determined woman. When she does something, she never goes halfway. I think this is a task that she's committed to, and I can't bring myself to destroy her by destroying you."

"But she's dying!" I yelled, throwing my hands up exasperatedly. It was then when the awful truth dawned on me. I had always known it, I guess. I just needed to hear it spoken aloud. I lowered my voice, "That's why she's looking in pain these days. She's dying."

Carlisle looked pained at my words. "I don't want to say it," he admitted, "but as a doctor, the odds are not too good in her favor. She is just deteriorating her body by working so hard, and getting little rest."

I nodded to myself. I wanted to cry like I did when I was ten and I scraped my knees. I wanted to scream and throw something like I did when I was thirteen. I wanted to laugh and make it seem like a joke, but I didn't do any of these things. A single tear slid down my cheek and I batted it away, ashamed at my own weakness.

"I'll give you some time alone," Carlisle said quietly as he slipped from the room.

I closed my eyes and relived my life, every last memory like a ray of sunshine, cutting across my bleak situation.

_"Look, Edward! It's a butterfly!" Mother pointed to the winged insect in her treasured flower garden. I crept closer, and then snatched at it with my pudgy toddler hand. Startled, the butterfly flew away. _

_"Gone!" I screamed and had started crying. It took Mother ages to calm me down._

_"It's not gone, you silly boy," She laughed, wiping away my tears. "It had flown away to a better place. Maybe a place with no suffering." She then looked up at the sky and smiled into the sunshine. Her radiance seemed to emit a glow and I smiled with her._

Sometimes, I'd like to think that heaven exists. I imagined my mother flying amongst the angels with her pure white wings, looking more beautiful than any of them. She wouldn't look stressed or sad. She would just be happy. Like the butterfly, I imagined her soul flying up to the sky to join the others, and leaving the mortals behind. Someday, I vowed, I will join her, and we'll go find father too. We'll all be together again.

_Crash! The thunder made me leap and I immediately found protection on Mother's lap. _

_"Sssh, it's alright, everything's fine," she murmured, smoothing my hair as she rocked us back and forth on the rocking chair. The lightning lit up the sky again._

_"Where does the light come from?" I wondered as any curious five year old would do._

_"They're the souls that have passed on. They want to remind us of their presence, but it's not bad. Afterwards, they always leave behind a special reminder. See?" The storm had cleared up and a faint array of colors lit up the sky._

_"When I go to heaven, I'll send you colors too." My mother dimpled at me and I wished that I had dimples too._

Rainbows fascinate me. The soft blending of light is a slight phenomenon to me, whilst my mother sees it as a miracle. The colors were so natural, yet strange at the same time, spreading across the sky for everyone to see. There was only one thing that held its winning spot over the spectrum of light.

_"Come here, Edward. Look at this." My mother's voice was full of wonder as she stood outside. I was thirteen, and had already planned on joining the army. I didn't want to go outside to look at the sky or the clouds or whatever she was looking at. I turned away, only to be drawn to the strange colors outside._

_The sun was just below the horizon, so the sky looked like a painter's canvas. Bright pinks, oranges and purples sprouted from the fireball, blending into rich shades of lavender. Dots of blue were scattered here and there. Wisps of clouds clung to the painting delicately. It was like looking at the edge of the world._

_My soft gasp was enough to announce my presence. Mother turned with a peaceful look on her face, her lips relaxed into a soft smile._

_"Twilight," she whispered. "The most beautiful time of the day, but only to be followed by darkness."_

_"I like the dark," I had stated, as we watched the sky dim and the twinkling lights winked at us. "Without the dark, we wouldn't be able to see stars."_

_"Someday, I'll be on that star, watching over you." She pointed to a big one right above our head. "When twilight comes, you'll know it's time, and you'll see me rise over the world."_

_"Someday." I repeated, having no explanation for the wave of sadness that had taken me._

Father had always found it strange to find me in the garden every evening after dinner. I would be sitting outside, with my eyes taking in the beauty of the scene.

****

The bright sunlight pierced my eyelids that morning, and I awoke, feeling groggier than ever. There were a lot of nurses bustling around, but something was wrong. They were all entering and leaving the ward Mother stayed in.

Carlisle was walking this way quickly and I grabbed his coat frantically.

"What's wrong with my mother?" I rasped out through my burning throat. It was strange that I had immediately assumed the patient was her. It could have been any of the thirty people staying in the same ward.

"Unfortunately, Edward, we have some bad news." He sighed, looking wearier than ever. I've never noticed before, but there were purple smudges under his eyes, probably a result from not enough rest.

I just waited for him to continue. I examined his face more closely. I had always thought it was the light, but his skin was very pale, even compared to Mother. His eyes were a rich tone of gold today, and I tried to remember if it had been a different color last week.

"Elizabeth has been given the death sentence. She is showing the last throes of the influenza symptoms." Carlisle's face crumpled in sadness. "We guess she has two, maybe three days to live."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or any of its characters

**(Author's note: Aww, thank you guys so much for the comments! I have to tell my English teacher that you all think I'm a good writer, and maybe she can change my C- to an A. This is how I usually write fan fiction; I'm sitting in front of my computer, with a pile of chocolate and a bowl of chicken noodle soup beside me. It's sure inspiring. Okay, well, enjoy this chapter. And tell your friends to read and review!)**

"_Elizabeth has been given the death sentence. She is showing the last throes of the influenza symptoms." Carlisle's face crumpled in sadness. "We guess she has two, maybe three days to live."_

The words vibrated in my head. Death. What a bleak concept. I guess I never really thought of my own parents dying or myself in fact. Surely I would have at least considered the possibility of not continuing to exist when I read up on the army? No, but I didn't. I didn't prepare myself at all, and now, the reality of it hit me hard like a battering ram.

"Edward, if you wish to see her again, we will have to do it tonight. Her symptoms are highly contagious and we are placing her under quarantine." Carlisle fixed his golden eyes upon my green ones, "If you would want to plan something beforehand…"

Then, I made up my mind. I knew what I wanted to do.

I instructed Carlisle carefully, and then he turned to discuss this with the nurses. While they talked, I slipped out of bed, into my wheelchair, and moved myself out of the ward. I think Carlisle saw me but if he did, he didn't say anything.

The air outside the hospital was warm and caressed my face like a cloud. I looked with sadness to the throng of trees near the building. How I longed to run amongst them again, free, with no sickness tying me down? Before I was sick, I would run everyday, and I would laugh to the skies as I ran, leaving the others behind. Now, I was nothing more than a weakened shell.

I watched as several small children jumped rope in a distance. They were laughing and chasing each other. I realized with another strike to my heart that they might become the next victims of the illness that had plagued Chicago.

"_I had a little bird,  
Its name was Enza,  
I opened the window,  
And_ _**in-flew-enza."**_

__I froze as I heard the laughter of the children repeat the poem as they skipped. I had once laughed and spoke those words. Finally, I understood the severity of the situation. I looked to the sky, the sun was setting.

"Edward. It's time." Carlisle's cool hand was placed on my shoulder. He had somehow known he'd find me here. The table was already set up outside, I nodded and went to sit down as the doctor went to fetch my mother.

She finally came. Her skin almost transparent, her arms were like sticks. The vein in her neck throbbed, and I could almost see the blood, struggling to flow through them. Her face was sunken to outline her skull perfectly.

I choked back a sob and cleared my throat again. "A twilight dinner." I smiled, even though it took me enormous effort to.

"My last night with you." She whispered as the nurses served us food. I didn't eat. The food felt like sawdust in my mouth at her words. I couldn't help but glare at her.

"Don't say that," I said, "It's only a bump in the road. You will get well soon, you will get well, damn it!" I hit the table with my hand. I think I was trying to convince myself more than she was.

Mother was silent all through dinner. Neither of us spoke, but let the gentle light of the setting sun do the talking.

"Beautiful night," She finally said after we were done. "The best night to share my last day with my beautiful son."

"But what will I do without you?" I gasped, fresh tears coming to my eyes.

"Live life, my Edward. Just keep on living for me, and know that when twilight comes, I will be riding up on that star, watching over you. I will watch over you during thunder and lightning, and send you a pretty rainbow too. Someday, when your body is as weak as mine, your soul will shed it like a dead skin and float up to Heaven to join me." Her voice was just a soft breeze as she struggled to make words.

"Mother -"

"Just know that I will be with you in spirit. I will be with you when you join the army. I will be there when you win your first victory. And I will be there to witness your wedding day."

I grimaced. I didn't like the thought of any girl ruining my life. I hadn't even planned on getting married, or courting anyone. I don't think I've even shown any interest in the girls that always paraded by our house, showing themselves off.

"Ahhh, one more thing," My mother whispered, and she withdrew a twinkling charm from her pocket, placing it on my palm. "This charm used to belong to my grandmother, and she told me that souls ride on stars. This represents my love for you, always watching over you on the twinkling light above. And see the rainbows? That's me, sending you a message that I'm here."

I examined it. It was a crystal heart, cut into many facets so it glittered when the moonlight caught it. It cast rainbows on the wooden deck we were seated on. I held it close to my own heart and knew I would treasure it for always.

"Time to go, Mrs. Masen." The nurse whispered.

And Mother turned to me one last time, "Goodbye, Edward. Be safe." She pulled me into a hug and kissed my forehead before the nurse wheeled her into the quarantine ward.

****

Sometime during the night, Mother slipped into a coma. Carlisle told me the next morning that she was now unresponsive and slightly delirious. I knew I couldn't see her but I asked anyways. By then, I could barely speak because my throat hurt so much. I wasn't even aware of my surroundings half the time. It felt like I was drifting in fog.

"I don't think so, Edward. She is in the worst condition." Carlisle told me, as he gave me my medication.

I told him I'd take it later. When he left, I dumped it out. There was no point in living if the only person I cared about ceased to exist. She had said our souls would meet in heaven, so why not make it sooner?

****

It might be a result from my suicidal mind, but the conscious periods grew shorter and fewer with longer pauses in between. Sometimes, I would wake to the hospital, but I would drift off immediately in the gray fog. One thing I concentrated on the most was my fist that was clenched tightly around the crystal heart.

"Had he taken his medicine this morning?" I heard Carlisle say almost to himself as he leaned over me. I didn't know how he could check, but I saw his sadness as he left, obviously convinced that I would no longer exist in this world.

Around two in the morning, I heard screams coming from Mother's ward. I couldn't hear everything, but I strained to stay awake anyways.

"Save him!"

I caught the last phrase and finally, my poor heart cracked in two. I think that was around the time I fell into the darkness, no longer caring about life.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

**(Author's Note: I really like that little children's poem I inserted in the last chapter. I found it on the internet, and it was actually invented circa 1918. It's true; you can go look it up. Anyways, hope you enjoy this chapter! And tell me if I should end it or just keep going.)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight, blah blah blah**

I heard the frenzy of nurses around me as the hospital continued on with their work. I wanted to scream at them. Why didn't the world stop when Elizabeth died? Why didn't anybody acknowledge her death? Why can't I move or speak?

I could only scream these things in my mind, my body too weak to move. I began to regret tossing out the medicine. The only thing I looked forward to now is seeing my mother again. I deciphered Carlisle's brisk footsteps as he came towards me.

"I've wheeled Mrs. Masen to the morgue, doctor. Would you like me to send a nurse for her son?" The raspy voice of a nurse asked.

"There will be no need, Teresa," Carlisle said, "I do not think he has long to live."

"What a shame. That boy's not bad looking. I will be sorry when he dies. So much he could have achieved. Oh well, make the best out of it I suppose, Miss Morgan is recovering very well -"

I tried to block out the babbling of the nurse with great difficulty. It wounded me to hear my mother's, and my own name, thrown around like nothing. The doctor had said I haven't long to live. I should be expecting to see the dimpled smile of Mother in several hours.

"I best get to it, Doctor Cullen. So many patients, so little time." The nurse, Teresa, sighed before I heard the door open and close.

"No, that boy has a choice to die." I heard Carlisle speak to himself, "But he would be such a good companion. No, he's lost a loved one already; it would do him no good to – but what if that's what he wants. Who would want a life like this? Surely nobody would choose it…"

I let the melodious tone of the doctor's voice bring me back to the comforting gray fog. _I'm coming for you_, I thought as I drifted off,_ just wait and see_.

****

I felt myself being wheeled down the hall. I was vaguely aware of surroundings. I could feel the hardness of the mattress beneath me, and I smelled the strong stench of medicine that hung in the air. I wondered vaguely why I was being wheeled in my cot.

A blast of cold air hit my face. My mind jumped to the morgue. But why was I here? Surely, I couldn't be dead if the pain was still here. I couldn't open my eyelids either, but this wasn't the heaven Mother had described. There was too much agony.

A pair of cold hands lifted me from my cot. I started to seriously question if I was dead or not. It felt like I was dreaming, but I was physically aware of the freezing limbs that held me up.

Then, a strange sensation spread over me and I was flying. I had no doubt that I was dead now. I smiled in my mind, thinking of my soul, rising up through the air to the stars. I could almost scream in anticipation. The hope was too great. I could imagine my mother's surprise and our laughter when we realized we've been so worried for just not seeing each other for a day.

I landed. For a brief moment, I thought it was a star. Then, I realized there was no sound except the steady breathing of the person carrying me. I forced my eyelids open, and the large marble room blurred. They finally focused on the man's serious face above me.

"Carlisle? What's going on?" I mumbled, not sure if I was coherent or not. I felt a stab of disappointment that I wasn't dead, but from what I felt, I was going to be soon. There's nothing more the doctor can do now to keep me from my loving mother.

He moved towards me and took my hand, moving back my sleeves until my wrist was exposed. I thought he was taking my pulse, or whatever the doctors did to check your well being. His face was full of infinite sadness as he sighed, and I saw fierce determination form on his young face.

"I'm sorry, Edward." He whispered, and a pain so intense, it was like nothing I've ever felt before, started to spread from my arm.

****

At first, I didn't cry out. My mind was scrambling. What's going on? But I was a soldier, and soldiers do not fear pain. It felt like somebody put a torch in my bloodstream. I felt the heat trickle through my veins.

Please, let it be over soon. I prayed. Who knew death was so painful? Had Mother gone through the exact same thing when she died?

My heart began to beat faster and faster, and I was gasping for breath on the cold tiled floors. My past rushed back to my head. How cliché, I thought grimly, a flashback.

The memories made my heart warm, and for a second, it was comforting. But the heat rose and rose until I couldn't take it anymore. I let out a wordless scream as I thrashed around on the ground.

"It'll be over soon." I think I heard Carlisle's voice say.

Carlisle? What did he have to do with this? I couldn't remember the last few minutes of my life. All I could think about was the burning that was rising inside me. I screamed again as my hand flopped helplessly. The fist that was clenched around my mother's charm came loose, and I heard the tinkle of the charm skidding across the floor.

"Make it stop!" I screamed, "Make the pain stop!" The fire was concentrating on each of my limbs now. I felt my leg flare with the heat as the fire moved itself around my body.

"The process is almost complete."

Had he said process? What process is he talking about? I couldn't concentrate on that; however, my heart was beating faster and faster and faster. And all I could think is how much pain Mother must have went through when she died.

Suddenly, the fire roared into flame, sending my entire body ablaze. I screamed and yelled as it consumed me, burning away all that was left.

"KILL ME!" I screamed as the heat increased. Chopping me into pieces with an ax would be much less painful. Running me over with a stampede of horses would be comforting. Why didn't anybody put out the fire?

The pain was fading now. The fire easing its way from my limbs. I drew in one precious breath in relief when my heart took off, beating a thousand thumps per second. I felt it lift my chest as I moaned and gasped.

Then…silence. I could hear everything. Carlisle's quiet breathing before was now loud in my ear, as if he was sitting right next to me. I heard the grass rustle as the breeze swept through it, I heard the dust move across the floor.

What had happened to me? It was quiet. Too quiet. So quiet it was eerie. It was then when I realized I hadn't taken a breath for five minutes, yet I didn't feel uncomfortable. I drew a breath.

A rush of smells came to my nose. I could smell everything.

Was I dead? Was this the stars? If so, where was Mother?

I trusted myself to open my eyes. I was staring up on a raised ceiling with a beautiful chandelier set into it. This wasn't a star.

"He is one of us now." I heard Carlisle's voice say.

I sprang to my feet in less time than I had thought was possible, and whipped around to face him. He was staring at me curiously, his mouth set into a grim smile.

"One of us?" I repeated, bewildered. My voice was different. It didn't crack or rasp. It was clear and melodious, just like the doctor's.

"I didn't say anything." The doctor's brow furrowed, but at the same time, his voice said, "How peculiar that he had heard what I just thought."

"I just heard what you thought?" I asked, more confused then ever.

"It seems so. Can you tell me what number I'm thinking of?" Carlisle focused his golden eyes on mine. "12 389 578 497."

I felt ridiculous, like the beggars on the street, claiming to read your mind for a fee. I repeated the number and Carlisle looked at me incredulously.

"Amazing." He whispered and he thought the same too.

It was then when I first heard the voices. They came in a flood and I could barely decipher them.

"So much to do, baking and what with -"

"I heard Miss Karen fell ill yesterday, hope she's okay… - "

"Nothing to say, it's over -"

I blocked the scramble of voices in my head as I looked with pained eyes at Carlisle. "What am I?"


	5. Chapter 5

**(Author's Note)**

**Hey, everybody! This is VeggieVamp talking. (Well no duh, who else would be writing this?) Anyways, I am going to end the story here because the title applies to the time when Edward was human. I might start a sequel but I am planning on writing Alice's human life. Tell me what you think by clicking that review button!**


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